Sawasdee Khrap Bangkok

This is my third visit to Bangkok. Whilst the first one was in 2005, the second trip was quite recent i.e. in October 2013. My initial plan was to use Suvarnabhuhmi Airport as a transit for onward journey to Vientiane. Laos is one of two ASEAN countries that I've yet to visit. The other one is Brunei Darussalam.

It all changed when I received an invitation from an old friend, Sal who has just relocated to the Land of Smiles in October 2013, to crash at his place. His offer to show me around Bangkok had made me to bring forward my flight from Sunday to Friday.

My MH0769 flight landed safely around 11 pm and the immigration and security checks took about 30 minutes. I met Sal at Exit 3, and we took taxi to his residence in Lad Phrao/Chatuchak area. The cost of the taxi ride was 300 baht. Well, I hardly take cabs in Kuala Lumpur, so I cannot compare it with KL rate. According to Sal, living costs in Bangkok is trended upward and nowadays more and more things here come with higher price tag than in Kuala Lumpur, especially residential properties. His two-room condominium unit, for example, comes with a monthly rental of 25,000 baht. Even ready-to-wear clothes at Uniqlo and Zara will cost much less in Kuala Lumpur.

This piece of information has made me to reconsider my initial plan to a quick retail therapy in the capital city of Thailand.

Both of us retired around 2am, after a quick catch-up of what have happened since our last encounter in 2004.

The night view of Lad Phrao from the balcony of Sal's residence